Màu nền Màu tối Mặc định Xám nhạt Xanh nhạt Xanh đậm Vàng nhạt Màu sepia Vàng đậm Vàng ố

Font chữ: Palatino Linotype Bookerly Segoe UI Patrick Hand Times New Roman Verdana Tahoma Arial

Chiều cao dòng: 100 120 140 160 180 200

Kích cỡ chữ:

Xander's POV:

I practically threw my door open once I reached it.

Thankfully I spotted Doe right away, watching her pause midway to wherever she was going once she saw me.

I just barely got out a sigh of relief and she barely called out my name before I scooped her into my arms.

She sighed my name again into my shoulder, one hand against my back and the other in my hair.

She was here. She has here and untouched.

That fact diminished a good portion of my worry, but not all of it.

"Thank god you're okay," I whispered.

"Thank god I'm okay?" She upbraided, holding me tighter, "What happened to you? They... they let you out?"

She just pulled back just enough to look at me, that same uncertain look in her eye from last time.

Her cheeks were puffy and eyes red, showing the kind of night she had without me.

I rubbed my hand up and down her back.

"Kind of," I began, "My father needed to speak with me, but I wanted to make sure that you were okay first."

I took a second to look around the room, "Where's Marcus?"

She simply pointed towards the bathroom, the switch of attention allowing me to hear the running water of the shower.

"He's been in there for a while. I think he's been taking this whole thing very personally," She explained.

I looked towards the bathroom door before returning my focus back to her and the way she buried herself against me again.

"Why does the Lord need you?" she asked tentatively.

"I don't know," I answered, hating that I didn't have any answers lately, "All I heard was that it was urgent, so I'll have to go soon. The last thing I want is to piss him off after-" I stopped, not wanting to say it out loud.

She curled uncomfortably against me.

"Please be careful Alex. I-I don't think I could handle it if you- if anything happened to you too."

I brushed back her hair, leaning down to place a soft kiss on her lips.

"I promise, and the same goes for you. I need to look after Nico, but I'll be back after I'm done with my dad for a minute. I'll keep you safe."

Well, depending on whatever he wants from me.

She didn't reply, just gave me a slight nod.

I was about to release her, but a sudden, frantic knock at my door caused me to do the opposite.

It also spiked her worry a very great deal.

Who the hell was that?

Doe and I looked at each other silently before I released her and walked wearily to the door, using every sense I could to decipher who it was.

I got nothing.

Damn these stupid walls.

When I finally opened the door, it felt like my heart stopped dead in my chest.

"Dad?!" The word came out more surprised than I wanted it to.

The terrified gasp that came from Doe summed up my thoughts pretty well.

My brain was rushing too much to allow a coherent thought to come out of my mouth, so he spoke first.

"What part of urgent do you not understand?" He asked before gripping my wrist.

I didn't get to respond before I felt the words rush by, barely feeling the fact that we went up some stairs.

I think those short seconds were the most scared I've been in my entire life.

When we finally stopped, we were in front of a door I didn't recognize.

And yet again, before I could ask any questions, he opened it, allowing me to see what was inside.

The bright lights in the room allowed me to spot the two women that sat inside.

One was my mother and the other was-

"Khloe?!"

---

Khloe's POV:

~20 Hours ago~

My breaths came hollow and ragged as I tried to open my eyes.

Every part of my body ached and buzzed, like my skin was crawling and my heartbeat was racing in my throat.

I heard the slightest whimper pass my lips as I strained to just open my eyes.

Once I managed to, I closed them immediately, the blinding light causing the rumbling in my head to get worse.

A couple more sounds -voices- jumbled with it as well before the brightness in front of my eyelids lessened.

I attempted to open them again, barely making out a familiar green within the blur I could see.

A few absent noises rose from my throat before I managed to get out a word.

"Ni...co?"

I felt a warm touch against my cheek, a hand.

The touch was soft, the comforting warmth somehow allowing my vision to clear.

I heard a soft laugh, the blur above me slowly forming into a familiar face.

"Not quite, sweetie." The voice was soft as well, just as familiar as the face but I couldn't place it through the haze in my mind.

The hand rose up to my forehead, its warmth only now making me realize how cold I felt.

"You're awake. That's a great sign," Even in the state I was in, I could detect the solace in her voice, like the fact that I woke up at all was a miracle.

"Now, I can't imagine the answer is going to be positive, but how are you feeling?"

I couldn't think clearly enough to distinguish that.

All I knew was that everything ached and that I couldn't find it in me to speak.

Just croaking out Nico's name caused a stinging in my dry throat.

And trying it again made it so much worse.

She must have seen my futile attempt, her expression growing worrisome.

"Right, let me try something then."

She rose from her apparent sitting position and leaned over me, placing a hand on each side of my head.

A slight panic ran through me once her pupils thinned just on instinct, but an essence of ease spread through my body from her touch.

The aches and uncomfortable feelings in my body eased but didn't completely disappear.

Which was still more than enough to get me to relax.

And helped me realize that despite just waking up, I felt exhausted.

I looked up to the woman above my eyes widening as I finally recalled who this woman was.

It was Nico's Mother.

Lady Vanderwood.

The realization clicked within my brain at the same time the memories of the last 24 hours did.

All of which hit me like a slap to the face.

Nico leaving, the boy breaking into our room, him eventually overpowering me and bringing me to... to... The Lord.

Oh my god

The Lord, The fight, My fear, Nico's fear as he dragged me away, then Nico got dragged away and I...

Finally, I could move to my will.

I brought my hand up to my throat.

I heard my neck snap and then everything just went dark.

I didn't feel it just... heard it.

The sensation from the Lady made its way through my body and she backed away, sitting back down where she was prior.

"Better?"

I just nodded the best I could.

I felt better, but the shaky resistance I found as I pushed myself up into a sitting position on this small bed still rose some questions.

Every muscle in my body felt sore.

And the loud buzzing of the light above us was making it a lot more difficult for me to even try to remember how I got here.

I knew lights made very faint noises but why was this one so loud.

I lifted my hands to my ears to try to diminish it and felt her hand on my shoulder soon after.

I looked to her right as she spoke.

"Relax."

I didn't understand what she meant by that until I focused back onto my own body.

To the best of my ability, I released the tension I was apparently holding, especially in my neck and shoulders.

Miraculously, the sound faded with it.

I didn't have to ask anything for her to give me the answer.

"Advanced hearing, dear. You'll get used to it and learn to control it in time."

Her tone held the same one it did that night she talked to Nico and that calm consoling smile.

But I didn't even know how to begin to process what she just said to me.

"L-Lady Vanderwood." was all I could even think to say, bowing my head a bit.

She responded with a quiet snicker, "Please call me Caroline my dear, but now that some of the effects are gone, how do you feel."

Effects?

"I... I don't know, my whole body hurts, I'm freezing and I just don't feel the same... what happened?" I asked, tugging up the thick blanket that sat on the edge of this bed.

It felt kind of weird speaking to her so casually, but it didn't necessarily feel wrong.

She gave out a small, slightly annoyed, sigh as she leaned back into the chair, setting the tips of her fingers on her forehead.

"I'm still waiting for the full explanation myself. Daniel should be back shortly, but from the short explanation I got from him things got," She searched for the word for a second, "Out of hand."

Out of... hand?

"Daniel?"

"Ah sorry. Lord Vanderwood."

I chill ran up my spine at the sound of his name.

Her eyes widened at the subtle reaction I had.

"Oh, please don't worry yourself Khloe. He probably didn't go about it the best way, but trust me when I say he means you no harm. As for what you're feeling, that's the changes in your body taking effect. You've completed the first stage out of three, and your body handled the first excellently."

I took in everything she said and pieced it together with what she said before.

Advanced hearing, changes, my cold skin.

I gasped at the realization, a mix of shock and excitement shooting through me.

"You gave me your blood and I'm turning into a vampire?!"

She smiled with a small nod.

No way.

This was what Nico said he would search for.

This was the answer we concluded to and it was already happening!

"Well, I didn't but," She nodded her head towards the door across the room, "He did."

Almost as if on cue, Lord Vanderwood burst through the door, an odd and unfitting look of anxiety sitting on his face.

The demeanor he held the last time I saw him was completely gone.

His formerly formal disposition had been completely disheveled.

His eyes set on me for just a moment before shifting to Caroline.

"Well, are you ready to explain yourself now?" She asked him with just a barely detectable hint of vexation

That look on his face deepened at her tone before he spoke.

"I fucked up."